


the leaving is just the same

by ivyxwrites



Series: Bluepulse Week 2020 [2]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Bluepulse Week, Bluepulse Week 2020, Day 2 - Memories, Hurt No Comfort, I'm really sorry about this, M/M, and also kind of a bitch sometimes, major character death but not really, really I am, speedforce is a Tired Mom, this pained me as much as it will probably hurt you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24883552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivyxwrites/pseuds/ivyxwrites
Summary: Some years ago, retirement had sounded, if nothing, extremely scary.orIn which Bart Allen considers retirement after a full, long life of superhero work, marriage and family. He announces his decision at the Justice League's table, in front of his friends, colleagues and daughter, and considers himself one of the lucky ones. He never could've seen the earthquake in Central City coming.
Relationships: Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes
Series: Bluepulse Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799095
Comments: 8
Kudos: 44





	the leaving is just the same

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so, the main thing I want to say about this PARTICULAR day is that I've done nothing wrong ever and the prompt made me do it. Other than that, we're cool. I'm cool. Everything's gonna be absolutely fine. 
> 
> A huge thanks to Lyssa, who continues to be the most kick-ass beta, allowing you to get some polished content for your reading pleasure in this our bluepulse week. She's wonderful, answers all my doubts when I have them and is absolutely on of the best friend's a girl could ask for. To Jax, I'm sorry you're about to get destroyed--that goes for all of you, too. To bluepulsebluepulse, your comments on yesterday's fic killed me and I have no words to tell you how much I appreciate the messages left in my little chatbox. 
> 
> Day 2 prompt is 'memories'! It has come to my attention that I didn't _have_ to make it angsty, but I disagree. Sometimes, in the words of my dear beta, you just gotta allow yourself to cry. 
> 
> Notes at the end for fun facts and translations!

Some years ago, retirement had sounded, if nothing, extremely scary. 

  
  


It wasn’t like Bart didn’t have anyone to pick up the slack for him.  His daughter was already a wonderful woman, with a great sense of moral direction and the speed to top it all off. Beatriz had become strong enough to deal with villains on her own a long time ago, not to mention she had become faster than he had been at her age. Slowly, but surely, the little girl he had tried to shield so hard from the world, had outgrown the Kid Flash mantle he hadn’t wanted to give her to begin with. It was both parts mortifying and relieving to see her so strong and determined. 

  
  


By 22, she had swapped in the yellow and red for a new blue suit. Bart agreed the color fit her better, as newspapers in Central City wrote about Kid Flash’s new identity and gave her a new name. They called her Bolt and she took to it like a moth to fire. She was happy to be her own hero, if only for now. 

  
  


Despite his daughter’s exceptional ability to sponge up the best from both Flash and the former Blue Beetle (along with some nasty traits, courtesy of Bart himself and Jaime’s own shortcomings), Bart had still been terrified when his husband put the issue on the table. He’d been part of the Flash legacy for the better part of his life, and he wasn’t sure he knew how to let go of it. Not to mention his obvious discomfort with letting Betty take on the mantle all on her own. She had only started to become confident in the little black boots of her Bolt suit, and Bart was scared to shove her into the Flash’s suit before she was ready. 

  
  


Jaime was less adamant about this. Before, when Betty had been a young girl, all gangly limbs and untapped potential, Reyes had probably been the more overprotective of the two. As their daughter grew up, however, Blue Beetle had become more and more flexible on the whole hero business.

  
  


After Betty had her own tussle with time (and space) all on her own at seventeen, Jaime had sat down to talk to her like the responsible adult he was, at times, known to be. Where the two of them had usually been fire and brimstone around each other, the sudden disappearance of their daughter for a year had made their hearts grow fonder of the comfort of family. The two Reyes had sat in the living room, collapsed around memories and words left unsaid, and spoken in soft tones about how to move forward. 

  
  


Bart hadn’t participated in that round of ‘feelings jam’. Nevermind he never excelled at showing people his true emotions (although Jaime had changed that for the better, at least where his family was concerned, anyways), but Flash had felt like that was something his husband and daughter had to work out for themselves. He had had his own little chat with Beatriz when all was said and done. The stars had been beautiful in the Texan desert that night, and Bart held her like she was six years old again. 

  
  


“I’m good,” she told him back then, “but I can’t keep running away the rest of my life--you taught me that.” 

  
  


Of course Bart had. He sometimes wishes he hadn’t. Betty was an Allen through and through, burdened with his own speed coursing through her veins, Grandpa Barry’s penchant for picking up fights and Wally’s self-sacrificing nature. She looked all Reyes (and held dear that part of herself, as well), but her heart beat to the rhythm of Bart’s own. 

  
  


There would be no one better to fill in his shoes.

  
  


“I think,” the master room in the Allen-Reyes household is quiet until Bart interrupts its stillness, and his husband hums back to let him know he’s listening, “I’m ready to retire.” 

  
  


For a long minute, the silence returns, but it's not long before Jaime is shuffling in his place, turning around in Bart’s arm to face him. Brown eyes stare into green, and the speedster takes one moment to look at his husband. The laugh lines around his eyes, the few grey hairs already sitting on the sides of his head in stark contrast against the black curls, his strong jawline, the kind curve of his mouth whenever he looks at Bart. Flash would like to kiss him, but waits to see if Reyes wants to say anything. 

  
  


“Are you sure?” Jaime’s voice is soft, breath washing over Bart’s lips, “I know I’m the one that told you you should when Betty became Bolt but--I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to.” 

  
  


Bart smiles, “I don’t think I’m ever going to be ready for retirement, Jaime,” he mumbles, “but the truth is that I  _ am _ getting old, and while the speed force has been kind to me, I think I could do with a quiet life as your husband, and your husband only.” 

  
  


Jaime’s smile grows fonder, and the man wiggles in bed until he’s close enough to peck Bart’s lips softly. The kiss doesn’t last long, but it’s sweet and soft and like coming home after a really long mission. 

  
  


“You ready to be trophy husband of the year?” Jaime mocks him, nuzzling against his collarbone, “The press will have a field trip.” 

  
  


“It’s not like they haven’t had that field trip already,” Bart shoots back, smiling, “Headlines were hilarious for months back when you became the President of all Biomedical Shenanigans.”

  
  


Jaime laughs against his clavicle, shoulders shaking under Bart’s left arm, “Ah, yes, that was me. The President of all Biomedical Shenanigans. What would my title be now?” 

  
  


“You’d be the President of all Technological Shenanigans now,” Bart mumbles, “you should change your plaque outside your door. I think it would please Ted very much.”

  
  


His husband laughs again, cool hands pressed against Bart’s chest where Jaime’s nuzzled against him. The speedster hums some unknown tune under his breath, closing his eyes as the quiet settles over the two of them. If he concentrates enough, he can hear the soft buzz coming from Jaime’s back where the scarab is nestled between his shoulder blades. 

  
  


“Have you told your daughter?” 

  
  


Bart’s laugh rumbles low in his chest, already half-asleep, “I have not. I want it to be a surprise, so I’ll announce it in the JL meeting tomorrow.” 

  
  


“How do you think Tim will react?” Jaime inquires, voice slightly muffled, “I feel like he’s seen it coming for a while.” 

  
  


“Nah,” Bart answers, kissing the top of his husband’s head, “I’m pretty sure he’ll flip outside the meeting room.” 

  
  


There’s another beat of silence before Jaime pipes up again, “Can I come?” 

  
  


Bart falls asleep happy. 

  
  


// 

  
  


Jaime doesn’t go with him. Not only has Blue Beetle been (semi) retired for almost three decades, but he also has an actual job to clock into the next morning. Bart kisses his husband, soft and sweet, at the door, and leans against the door frame as he watches Reyes get into his car and drive away. He takes in a deep breath, waving hello to Mrs. English and her grandson across the street, before turning around to go back inside his home. 

  
  


He takes a while to get ready for the day. Bart is in no actual hurry to get anywhere. Granted, Tim will probably have his head if he’s late to today’s meeting, considering he asked to be added to the schedule as priority, and it’s not really in his DNA to get anywhere late. That’s his grandfather’s thing, not really his. 

  
  


Bart just wants a moment of peace. 

  
  


He cooks something for Jaime to find later when he comes home, going through the process with that quiet precision he’s learned over the years. Jay had taught him how to keep himself grounded through the little mundane acts when he was growing up in the Garricks’ home, and it became a habit he carried with him into his own domestic life. Bart smiles to himself, stirring the chicken he was preparing, and thinks they should go visit Jay and Joan at the memorial park soon. He thinks both Betty and Jaime should be free on the weekend. 

  
  


Hours later, Bart’s fiddling with his ring as he steps into the zeta tube that will take him to Watchtower. Despite his conviction the night before, it seemed that he couldn’t avoid feeling insanely nervous now that he was up here, ready to relinquish his seat in the Justice League to someone new and his family legacy to his daughter. Taking one last breath to steel himself, Flash walks into the meeting room with as much confidence as he can muster. 

  
  


Bolt is already at her usual seat, feet propped up on the table with an easy smile on her face. She’s leaning back in her seat, talking in hushed whispers with Supergirl and laughing loudly every minute or so. Bart’s daughter waves at him sheepishly when she catches green eyes from across the room, and promptly sets her chair and feet back on the ground. 

  
  


Red Robin calls the meeting into order, letting Flash step at the head of the table to address his fellow superheroes and old friends. Most of the people he’s been working with for a couple of years now weren’t the ones he had grown up fighting with as Young Justice, except for a few stragglers, but he had fought with every single person in this room at least once. Tim, to his left, offers him a small smile, and nods to get him to talk. 

  
  


“I don’t really know how to start saying any of the things I want to say,” Bart says, “but I guess what I’m about to announce has been a long time coming.” 

  
  


Betty leans forward, chin resting on her hand, elbows on the table, and Bart can almost see her arched eyebrow underneath the blue domino mask she wears. Besides her, Supergirl shifts her eyes from his daughter to himself, probably connecting the dots in her head quicker than anyone else in the room. Bart takes another deep breath, looking at Cassie next, who offers him a quick thumbs up to his right. Flash can’t help but laugh. 

  
  


“Jeez, what a ridiculous old man I’ve become,” he continues, and claps his hands together in front of him, “But no use delaying the inevitable, I guess! Today, I want to officially announce that I am going into retirement, effective immediately.” 

  
  


Hushed whispers roll through the table and Betty springs upright in her seat so fast that Bart has to laugh again. 

  
  


“I’ve had a good  _ run _ as the Flash,” people groan, “I’ve fought alongside some of the most well-prepared heroes and learned from the many legacies that decorate our hallways and museums. I was blessed with great fortune to have crash-landed in a century where I found love, and family, and friendship. To be quite honest, I should’ve done this the moment Bolt got old enough to outrun the Kid Flash mantle  _ and _ myself.” 

  
  


He catches his daughter’s eyes across the room again, and Bart smiles, “I’m stepping down from being the Flash and allowing new heroes to take a shot at creating their own stories. If she so desires, I think we can all agree that Bolt is more than ready and fit to take on the legacy I’m leaving behind. No pressure, kid.” 

  
  


Before he can laugh heartily at Betty’s surprised expression, the alarm sounds overhead. 

  
  


// 

  
  


Jaime doesn’t know what he hates the most: the fact that his coffee just got spilled all over his fancy-ass carpet or that an earthquake just hit Central City  _ the exact moment _ he was trying to close a deal with an overseas hospital. 

  
  


_ Dios _ , he sounds like Ted now. 

  
  


He lunges into action almost immediately, however, when the first wave hits. Jaime excuses himself from the man in the video conference, telling them they should reschedule as soon as his building isn’t about to topple over. Without waiting for a response, (hoping Doctor Easton will forgive him for that later) he shuts down the whole thing and armors up. Khaji chitters structural data into his head as Jaime works on getting everyone out of danger, herding people under desks and other secure places until the tremors subside. 

  
  


“ _ Jaime! _ ” comes Brenda’s voice, ringing in his headplate, “ _ What’s going on? _ ” 

  
  


“Get the people out of the labs,” Jaime answers back, quickly, “Khaji’s making calculations to see when we can get everyone out and how fast we have to be before the aftershock hits, but the labs are unsafe right now.” 

  
  


“ _ Already on it, Jaime, _ ” Brenda cuts off a little, as the head of the scientific department barks out orders on her end, “ _ Tell me when you have more data. _ ” 

  
  


With a clipped agreement, Jaime continues moving people away from windows and other breakable items, as the first tremor seems to peak. The scarab relays to him that this earthquake doesn’t seem normal, as the energy signatures differ from a mundane occurrence. Before he can comment on how Weather Wizard cannot control earthquakes, there’s a crack behind Jaime and one of the windows breaks into the lobby next to his office. Khaji conjures up a shield, and Blue Beetle curls his body around the person he had been directing towards the nearest safe spot.

  
  


Next, Khaji tells him the earthquake is about to be over, unusually short for Missouri, but Jaime doesn’t care too much about that. He orders the people to form a single line and start going down the evacuation stairs. Some ask him if the boss will be alright, and he tries to assure them that Jaime Reyes is doing his part, helping other people evacuate laboratories and the like, to which they respond with a smile. Sometimes he gets tired of lying to people. 

  
  


_ [The aftershock will hit in thirty minutes, Jaimes Reyes.] _

  
  


“Try not to push each other and keep order,” he tells his assistant, who nods shakily but decidedly, “Make sure they all make it all the way outside, if you see other people coming out of the other floors, add them into the line as quick as possible and  _ keep moving _ .” 

  
  


He doesn’t know how long Esteban has known his secret ID, but it makes it easier to ask things of the younger man when he knows who’s underneath the faceplate. Jaime’s assistant nods once more, and springs into action, more secure and confident than anyone else would in his position. Reyes wonders if he’s made the poor assistant go through too much while working with him since this doesn’t phase him at all. 

  
  


Jaime exits the building through one of the windows, relaying to Brenda how long it’ll be before the aftershock hits, and asks Khaji to do a quick scan of the Kord building. Most people were already rushing to the evacuation exits, the scarab tells him, but Brenda del Vecchio seems determined to help as many people out and her energy signature keeps moving up and up and up to higher levels. 

  
  


“Brenda, get to the goddamn exits,” he calls out into his communicator after opening up the line again, “I’m not joking, I will call  _ La Dama _ and make sure she knows how stupid you’re being.” 

  
  


The signal cracks softly and Brenda’s laughing on the other side, “ _ I don’t think you want to call my tía as much as you bluff _ .” 

  
  


“Well no,” Jaime admits, moving to hover over the fifth floor, where Khaji told him some people were trapped in one of the meeting rooms after the doorframe had cracked inward, “But I will if you don’t listen to me.” 

  
  


His best friend just laughs again, but the scarab does tell him that Brenda’s life signature was already going down the stairs again. Jaime’s thankful. 

  
  


He sets his sonic canon to a lower setting, making sure it’s down-powered enough that it won’t hurt the people inside, and he presses the end of it to the window. With one blast, the window cracks and falls to pieces next to the meeting table, and the people in the room turn to look at him from under their hiding. Khaji counts eleven people in total. 

  
  


“ _ ¡El Escarabajo Azul! _ ” one of the men calls out, crawling out of the space to beam up at him. 

  
  


Jaime smiles at him, although he knows it translates weirdly into his face plate because that’s just how the armor works. He tells them they’re gonna have to re-enact a scene from a superhero movie to make this rescue work, and they all nod enthusiastically. Khaji electrifies his suit and Reyes explains the plan to his workers. Who thought Iron Man’s intellect was gonna come in handy this time around?

  
  


Once all the people are holding onto each other, Jaime takes in a deep breath and kicks into full thruster. The added weight is hard to carry, but Khaji is doing his best to help him where they can. It’s a long way down to the street below them, but Reyes tells himself it’s only a little trek to make it seem a little bit more bearable. The strain on his muscles wouldn’t have been so bad if he wasn’t already nearing his 60s, but he bites the inside of his cheek and deals with it. 

  
  


He’s gonna be sore tomorrow. 

  
  


When he’s closer to the ground, he allows the people to hit the asphalt before him, making sure they’re all upright before cutting the electricity off his suit. His employees thank him, one of the women closer to him hugging him tightly around the neck, to which he responds with a little sheepish laugh. No matter how many years he’s been doing this, Jaime never gets quite used to this attention. 

  
  


“Everyone’s been evacuated,” a voice behind him says, and Jaime turns to smile at his husband, still clad in his distinctive red suit, “Kord’s building seems mainly intact, but Jaime Reyes might want to call an expert to go over it before he lets the people inside.” 

  
  


“I’m sure Mister  _ Allen-Reyes _ is very well aware of that, Flash,” Jaime jokes back, “If not, I know his PA, I’ll let him know to make an appointment.” 

  
  


“Duly noted, Blue,” Bart answers him, and people around them shake their heads, used to the weird flirting the two superheroes liked to dabble in now and again, “Bolt and Supergirl are making sure the rest of the buildings are vacated, what’s the scarab’s assessment?” 

  
  


Jaime switches back into serious in a second, “We’re twenty-three minutes from an aftershock, but Khaji Da’s saying they think this isn’t normal.” 

  
  


“Yeah, it doesn’t feel like it,” Flash answers, just when Red Robin and Wonder Woman touch down on either side of him, “I don’t even think it’s an actual earthquake, reality feels strange.” 

  
  


“I never get tired of you talking about how reality feels,” Wonder Woman coos, pinching Bart’s cheek, to which the red-clad superhero huffs, “But I agree, my hair is standing on edge--do you think it has anything to do with the speedforce?” 

  
  


Before Bart can answer or Jaime can listen to Khaji Da’s recommendation, Bolt skids to a stop next to Blue Beetle, and Supergirl sets down the little girl in her arms. The two younger superheroes receive the thanks from a worried mother and then they turn back to the circle. 

  
  


“What’s the prognosis?” Betty asks, looking all business in her blue suit, and Jaime can’t help but smile, “Cause I keep feeling like someone’s running on my heels and it’s not Supergirl, I already asked.” 

  
  


Bart arches an eyebrow under the cowl, the movement imperceptible to outsiders but very clear to the circle of superheroes, “What do you mean?” 

  
  


Their daughter shrugs, looking back at Supergirl like she doesn’t quite know how to answer, “I’m not sure, it just feels like everytime I run someone’s behind me. Gaining on me. I feel pressured to go faster.” 

  
  


“Or like you’re being pulled back so you have to hit the gas?” Bart asks, and Jaime finds the description oddly specific for it to be a coincidence. 

  
  


Bolt nods once, “Yeah, absolutely. I have no idea how that definition fits, but it does. It feels like something’s pulling me back all the time--do you feel it too?” 

  
  


“No,” Bart says, shaking his head, “but I know someone who has. This isn’t good.” 

  
  


Blue Beetle’s about to say something, before Khaji Da interrupts his thoughts. 

  
  


_ [I don’t mean to alarm you, but the aftershock is coming now.] _

  
  


“You said it was still twenty minutes away!” Jaime yells, and people turn to look at him--he gets and odd sense of deja vu, he hasn’t done this in a while, “Sorry, the scarab said--” 

  
  


And the ground shifts again. People hold on to each other, and the two speedsters move in unison to move people away from the buildings and power-lines. It’s a little difficult to maneuver around them, so the heroes that can go airborne do so to allow more space in the middle of the street.

  
  


“ _ Hey, you’re outside, right? _ ” Brenda’s voice cuts into his thoughts again, just as Jaime kicks up into the sky, looking around himself wildy, “ _ Okay, yeah, I see you. Esteban’s here with me. Do you have any idea what’s happening? _ ” 

  
  


“Not yet,” Jaime answers, swooping in to protect a little girl from a brick falling from one of the buildings next to Kord’s, “Flash says it might be something to do with the speedforce. We didn’t get much info after that.” 

  
  


“ _ Ah, fuck, _ ” Brenda answers, eloquent as always, “ _ So, what do we do? _ ” 

  
  


“Keep employees and other people the furthest away from buildings and power-lines as you can,” he orders her, passing the little girl to Tim’s arms, “This earthquake has proven to be too unpredictable, so try to stay away from things that can fall until we figure this all out, alright?” 

  
  


“ _ Got it, boss, _ ” Brenda answers, and Jaime finally catches her saluting at him from somewhere down on the ground, “ _ Be careful. _ ” 

  
  


“You too, Bren.” Jaime shuts down that channel and switches to the Justice League approved communication line, “Blue Beetle to Watchtower, who’s on screens?” 

  
  


“ _ You know it’s me, dipshit, _ ” Jason’s curt voice tells him, and Jaime rolls his eyes, “ _ Central City looks like it’s about to take a beating. _ ” 

  
  


“Thanks for the optimism, asshole,” Blue Beetle answers, and Khaji chips in that the tremors are subsiding, “Is this thing only happening in Central?”

  
  


“ _ Currently, it seems so, _ ” Red Hood answers him as Jaime touches down on the ground again, “ _ Nothing outside of the borders. Not even in Keystone City. _ ” 

  
  


“An earthquake is never an isolated incident,” Jaime musses, “Khaji, can you tell me how long until paramedics are here? I saw some injured people while flying.” 

  
  


_ [They seem to be stuck three blocks down. Dispatch is trying to send more ambulances, but judging by the scale and unpredictability of this earthquake, it might not be enough.]  _

  
  


Jaime curses, “Jay? How much back-up do we have?” 

  
  


“ _ Batman and Batwoman were on their way from Gotham’s zeta tube to south Central City, _ ” Jason answers, tone clipped and all business, “ _ Superman is helping some people in STAR Labs up north, the Titans are helping people in residential areas in the suburbs. Your husband and daughter are already doubling their speed to help all over the place, though--you’re falling behind, slowpoke _ .” 

  
  


Jaime really hates Jason sometimes, “Get me my husband on the line, Jay.” 

  
  


“ _ Sure thing, _ ” Jason grits out, “ _ Bossy much? How does the Flash stand you. _ ” 

  
  


“ _ He gets a pass ‘cause he’s cute, _ ” Bart voices crackles to life just as Jaime leans down to patch what looks to be a sprained ankle on a Kord employee, “ _ What can I do for you, amor mío? _ ” 

  
  


“I think you know perfectly well what’s going on here,” Jaime tells his husband, trying to be as quiet as he can be so as to not alert the people around him to their conversation, “Give it to me straight, or so help me god, Flash.” 

  
  


The woman with the sprained ankle laughs softly behind her hand. Jaime feels his cheeks heat up and he apologizes for acting weird. 

  
  


“Not to worry,” she tells him sweetly, looking only barely pained as Khaji Da supplies him with bandages, “Please, don’t mind me. You seem to be having an important conversation with the Flash.” 

  
  


So much for the tabloids not knowing he was married to Bart,  _ chale _ . 

  
  


“ _ You’re perpetually going to be the crazy guy who talks to himself, _ ” his husband laughs at him over the comms, and Jaime has to stop himself from growling, “ _ But to answer your previous accusation, I’m not actually a 100% sure of what is going on, so I resent the fact that you think I know more than I say I do. _ ”

  
  


“You always know more than you say you do,” Jaime reminds him, finishing up with the bandages, “Please, Flash, just  _ talk to me _ .” 

  
  


There’s silence on the line then. Jaime finishes up his job and moves to the next injured person he can see. Tim is already making his way through the crowd, too, helping as many people as he can with the limited amount of supplies they have. Khaji Da tells Jaime there might be some supplies in the Kord building that might help tend more injuries. 

  
  


Before he can kick up the sky to get to the infirmary in the corporate building, Bart halts to a stop and grabs him by the arm before he can. 

  
  


“Sorry,” the Flash smiles sheepishly at him, “Let’s move somewhere, okay?” 

  
  


Jaime nods, before he talks into his com, “Hey, Jay? Get me Bolt.” 

  
  


“ _ A la verga, _ ” his daughter’s curse is the first thing he hears when Red Hood wordlessly patches him through, “ _ Whoops, sorry about that, old man. You rang? _ ” 

  
  


“I need you to go into buildings and search for first-aid kits,” Jaime orders her, “if you see places where paramedics haven’t gotten there yet, make sure to pass some around for us to step in, alright?” 

  
  


“ _ Sí, señor. _ ”

  
  


“And Bolt?” Jaime asks, before he cuts the connection. 

  
  


“ _ Dígame. _ ” 

  
  


“What did we say about cursing in the field?” 

  
  


He can almost hear his daughter roll her eyes, “ _ You’re so annoying, Diosito santo.”  _

  
  


“First-aid kits, Bolt,” Jaime reminds her, “Be careful,  _ niña _ .” 

  
  


Blue Beetle cuts the communication after his daughter repeats the sentiment to him, and Bart and he move further away from the crowds so they can have whatever conversation it is they’re about to have. They’re both tense as they walk, aware that aftershocks could apparently hit at whatever the fuck time they wanted, making Khaji’s predictions absolutely useless. 

  
  


“So,” Jaime says, once they’re finally away from the people, “tell me what you think you know?” 

  
  


“Reality is pulling apart in Central City,” Bart explains, as if it was the most natural thing (and, considering their lives, what was new?) “At least I think it is, and from what Betty just said, I might know why.” 

  
  


Jaime arches an eyebrow, although it can’t be seen behind his face plate, and he nudges his husband to continue. 

  
  


“When Wally came back, we talked about how it felt for him to be pulled into the speedforce that way,” Bart continues, “He said at the time, he thought the urge to go faster was because he needed to catch up to me and Barry, but that when he reflected on it, he realized it was much more than that. 

  
  


“The speedforce was running after him, stepping on his heels.” Bart’s voice gets thick with concern, “It made him feel like he was being pulled backwards instead of forward, so he needed to run faster, faster, faster--until he picked up enough speed so that she could take him.” 

  
  


Jaime processes the words, feeling dread pull in stomach, “Bart, what does that mean? For us, right now, I mean.” 

  
  


“Remember the first night we brought Betty home?” 

  
  


A tight nod. Jaime is barely aware that Bolt, their daughter, was only some meters away, having followed his instructions and dropping some first-aid kits at Tim’s feet. She ruffles some kid’s hair before shooting off to keep running. 

  
  


“You told me you had talked to the speedforce,” Jaime said, “Or well, you didn’t tell me that exactly, but you did kind of imply it.” 

  
  


“Yeah,” Bart swallows, taking in a deep breath, “it was a strange dream, but she was there--the speedforce I mean. Remember what I told you?” 

  
  


Jaime does, but he doesn’t really want to say it, so he just nods again. 

  
  


“I think she’s here for  _ her _ ,” Bart tells him, and Jaime feels that pit in his stomach turn bigger, “I’m not gonna let her take Betty, Jaime. I promised you I wouldn’t.” 

  
  


Blue Beetle sets an armored hand on Flash’s shoulder, feeling people staring at him, curious perhaps as to why they’re so far away from the action instead of helping. He’s always had to pull his affections back when they were on the field (one of the many reasons the hero business hadn’t worked all that well for Reyes) but right now it seemed appropriate to at least give his husband some sort of comfort. 

  
  


“We don’t know if that’s what’s happening, Flash,” he mumbles, shifting closer to the man, as if he wants to hug the speedster, “Let’s just try to get through this moment, okay?” 

  
  


Jaime’s earpiece crackles with static, and Conner’s voice comes into focus, “ _ Flash, Blue Beetle, come in. _ ” 

  
  


Both heroes step apart to answer the call in unison. 

  
  


“ _ You might want to come to STAR Labs. _ ” 

  
  


// 

  
  


When Jaime and Bart make it to STAR Labs, the whole place has descended into chaos. An ugly grey cloud hangs over the scientific facility, thunder roaring overhead menacingly as Flash sets down Blue Beetle on the asphalt of the parking lot. Superman (Jon, not Conner) is carrying people away into safety, while Conner tries to keep STAR Labs’ door from collapsing while Bolt herds people outside. 

  
  


“What’s happened here?” Flash asks as soon as Jon has touched down next to them again. 

  
  


“If this is really an earthquake, this is where it originated,” Jon answers, just as Betty and Conner make it out to safety and the building starts to collapse, “But I’m assuming earthquakes don’t usually come with storm clouds.” 

  
  


“Hey, dad?” Bolt calls, dropping Conner down where she had been carrying him to safety, and leaning against the other man’s sturdier frame, “I’m not saying this just because I carried one Superman to safety, but I’m getting really tired right now.” 

  
  


“I’m gonna ask you to step down right now, Bolt,” Flash doesn’t turn into Bart when his daughter calls him, something unlike him, “I don’t want you anywhere near close to whatever’s happening here.” 

  
  


Betty bristles, but doesn’t move away from where Conner’s arms are keeping her steady, “Where’s this coming from? Are you willing to be down one speedster just because you think I can’t take this?” 

  
  


“It’s not about that,” Bart grits out, losing some of his edge, and Jaime steps between the two of them as soon as Betty tries to step into her father’s personal space, “Listen, this thing might pull you apart. I’m not sure why she’s doing this right now, but I can’t put you in danger like that.” 

  
  


“Okay, both of you,” Jaime tries, pressing an armored hand against Bart’s chest, the contrast of blue against red all too familiar for him, “How about we not go through this whole familiar spiel and Flash can tell Bolt why--” 

  
  


Jaime’s words are cut short, as lightning hits uncomfortably close to the place where they’re all standing. Flash grabs him under the shoulders, pulling him along for the ride as they scatter, and Jaime watches his daughter give one final wince before grabbing Conner and slinging him along with her. When the world comes back into focus, Jaime turns to his right to see his daughter kneeling on the ground, breath coming in short puffs. 

  
  


“Okay,” Conner says, one of his hands curled protectively around Betty’s arm, “I think you really do need to step down, kid. Your energy is drained.” 

  
  


“I don’t,” Betty gives a shuddering breath, trying to steel herself, and Jaime feels his chest constrict with emotion, “I don’t understand what’s happening to me.” 

  
  


“It’s the speedforce,” Bart tells her, coming to kneel down next to her, “I really need you to push yourself one more time and get as far away as possible from here. Find Supergirl and stick to her side, if someone can get you out of a pickle it’s her.” 

  
  


“What did I say about telling Bolt why you need her out of the way?” 

  
  


There’s another crack of lightning, but this time it doesn’t hit close enough to spook the heroes away. Jaime nudges Bart with a foot against red-clad ribs and Flash swats him away, grimacing. 

  
  


“Speak, damn it.” 

  
  


“Speedforce has favorites, Betty, you know that,” Bart tells his daughter, as if that explains everything, “I don’t understand why she wants to take you today, but you need to get out of here.” 

  
  


“How do you know she doesn’t want to take you?” Betty exclaims, suddenly tense, “What if I go and no one here is fast enough to bail your ass out of the speedforce before she swallows you whole?” 

  
  


Then, as an afterthought she adds, “No offense, Superman, sir.” 

  
  


Jon laughs, shaking his head, “That’s alright, Bolt, none taken.” 

  
  


“Look,” Bart begins again, helping her up to her feet, “I know I can be overbearing sometimes, but this is something I  _ know  _ and I’m not willing to lose you like that. Someone has to become Flash after me.” 

  
  


In the time that it takes Betty to consider this, Jaime stares in horror as another lightning hits down, but instead of hitting the asphalt underneath, it hits Betty’s right shoulder where Bart is holding her. The next couple of things happens in slow motion, or so it seems to Jaime, as his daughter is pulled backwards forcefully by some unseen force commanded by the speedforce, and she slips away from Bart’s hands, that are left grasping at air in front of him. Bolt crashes painfully against the floor, and her goggles disappear somewhere under a car a few meters away. 

  
  


Bart and Jaime lunge forward at the same time, and the wind picks up. Blue Beetle recognizes faintly the electric buzz dancing around them, the feeling familiar and warm, just like coming home to Bart’s open arms. He shakes the thought of his head, feeling stupid for thinking like that about the thing that’s apparently taking their daughter away from them. 

  
  


Somehow, Betty twists on the floor while she’s being dragged, planting her feet under her to try and stop whatever it is that’s moving her against her will. The time she buys for herself fighting is enough for both Jaime and Bart to reach her, mostly at the same time, and the two men hold on to any part of their daughter they can grab. 

  
  
  


“Well that was fucking fun!” Betty grits out as Jaime comes to hold her by her waist, Khaji Da chittering angrily as they deploy a claw-looking tool that Blue Beetle stabs down into the ground to keep them grounded, “I thought you said something about  _ favorites _ ?” 

  
  


“She has an odd way of showing she cares,” Bart’s on the other side of their daughter, holding her shoulders while trying not to hurt her, “We’re gonna have to run, do you think you still have some juice in you?” 

  
  


“And what am I supposed to do,  _ mamón _ ?” Jaime exclaims, turning to look at his husband with wild eyes, “Didn’t you say Wally had to pick up speed before she could take him? That’s the worst idea you’ve had so far!” 

  
  


Bart makes a frustrated sound in the back of his throat, teeth bared in the effort he’s making to keep his daughter from being pulled any further, “I actually haven’t had any ideas at all!” 

  
  


“Clearly!” 

  
  


“Dads!” Betty screams, looking scared, “Can we not do the married bickering right now? I know you guys are a cute couple,  _ we get it _ \--how the hell do I get out of whatever the fuck this is?” 

  
  


“First, we need to break whatever hold she has on you,” Bart tells her, “I know you don’t like this idea, Jaime, but she needs to run with me--ask Khaji if they have any electricity resistant blades.” 

  
  


_ [I’m in the process of alchemizing it.]  _

  
  


“Yeah, they got it,” Jaime answers, “what am I supposed to do, then?” 

  
  


“Betty, turn around on your father’s arms,” Bart orders, and the woman does as she’s told, facing the two of them, “You need to run at the exact same speed that I am. No falling behind or forward, just at the same speed--when we’re off, Jaime, cut right behind her. Whatever is holding her, if it’s made of the speedforce, an electricity resistant blade  _ might _ cut through it.” 

  
  


“That gives me absolutely no peace,” Jaime answers, “but I guess we don’t have any more plans so, ready when you are,  _ mi amor _ .” 

  
  


Somehow, Bart’s right. As soon as the two speedsters are running away, whatever is holding onto Betty snaps under the swift cut of Jaime’s new blade. Flash has to grab Bolt before she tumbles to the ground. As soon as they’re both on their feet again, and can keep running, they keep going, but lightning keeps raining around them.

  
  


“Why the fuck did I marry a speedster?” Jaime huffs out, annoyed, before he lunges forward to fly close behind his family. 

  
  


Jaime’s not as fast as his husband or daughter, but the bugsuit can keep up, at least to a certain extent (especially when the two of them are pulling their punches, so to speak). As soon as he’s hovering next to them, something warps around them, lines of energy shooting on both sides and coming to a close before them. 

  
  


The Allen-Reyes family manages to stop before splatting ungracefully on whatever has managed to trap them. They stick close, shoulder against shoulder. 

  
  


“Okay,” Jaime says, flinching when he listens to Betty’s pained groan as she leans some of her body weight on him, “What now?” 

  
  


Bart is quiet, but something else fills the silence. The faint buzz Jaime had been aware of before becomes increasingly loud, until there are cracks of electricity clapping in his ears. Blue Beetle can’t see anything past the wall of yellow and orange light wrapping around them and when he asks Khaji about it, they answer their programming has no direct solution to the problem. 

  
  


One unusually loud clap of lightning hits just a few meters away to the front of Betty and the two men instinctively turn around to grab at their daughter. Standing over the concrete, a swirling portal of light and electricity buzzes with urgency. 

  
  


“It’s,” Betty whispers, “It’s calling to me.” 

  
  


“Hey,  _ mija _ , listen to me,” Bart tells her, stepping in front of her, “Shut her out--you can do that. She’s not forcing you in yet.” 

  
  


“But she will,” Bolt answers back, looking over her father’s shoulder with a grimace, “she took Uncle Wally without asking. Shouldn’t I go now that she’s being nice about it?” 

  
  


Bart looks pained as he tugs the cowl down, green eyes glassy, “I can’t let her do this to us, Betty.” 

  
  


_ [Jaime Reyes, incoming.]  _

  
  


Jaime doesn’t have enough time to react, when Bart is knocked from behind by something he can’t quite see and Betty is, once more, tugged forward forcefully. The woman screams, turning around and trying to reach for Jaime, who only barely misses her. Blue Beetle grasps at the air left behind by his daughter, and before he can react, Bart is on his feet, full-steam ahead. 

  
  


A red-clad hand wraps around blue, just as Bolt’s halfway into the portal, and Bart holds onto his daughter for dear life. Jaime scrambles to grab Betty’s remaining hand, setting thrusters to full capacity and directing them to the opposite direction to try and fight the most powerful source of energy in the goddamn universe. 

  
  


Next, Jaime’s world comes crashing in about seven full seconds. Bart, making use of whatever strength he’s got left in himself, grabs Betty by the waist and pulls the woman against him. Blue Beetle helps, holding onto his daughter’s two arms this time, and before he knows it, the two blue-themed heroes are sent backward, Jaime’s back hitting the asphalt roughly. Air leaves his lungs, and white spots dance in his vision. 

  
  


But Betty’s here, held in his arms, and Jaime could cry. 

  
  


The moment is short-lived. When the woman finally rolls off his chest onto the pavement next to him, Jaime notices Bart’s taken their daughter’s place. With a strangled yell, Blue Beetle tries to reach for his husband and only barely catches Bart’s outstretched hand. The contact isn’t quite enough, and Jaime has no real leverage to try and pull him out. Not for the first time in his life, Reyes begs for his husband’s life. 

  
  


“It’s okay,  _ escarabajo _ ,” Bart tells him, softly, his voice distorted over the roar of the speedforce, “ _ Te amo, mi vida _ .” 

  
  


And he let’s go. 

  
  


The portal closes with a whoosh, and Blue Beetle falls to his knees. Betty, already losing consciousness, blurts out an incoherent babble of confusion behind him, but he can’t bring himself to move. Steps behind him, Conner’s soft voice, Jason’s even softer voice in the inside of his armor, and Supergirl’s hands trying to help him up. 

  
  


In his hands are the Flash ring and the silver band he placed on Bart’s finger on their wedding day. 

  
  


// 

  
  


When Bart wakes up, his first thought was how Jay was lucky to have been born away from the speedforce’s grubby hands. His second thought is  _ ouch _ . 

  
  


His body burns with exertion, a feeling he’s forgotten in his many years as the Flash, and there’s a distinctive taste of metal in his mouth. Bart wonders if he bit his tongue too hard, or if this is just how it tastes to get your ass kicked by a supernatural force of the universe. His face is pressed uncomfortably against a cold surface. Something feels amiss. 

  
  


He groans, rolling over to lay on his back. The sky overhead is filled with stars, twinkling against the dark blue of the universe. Bart blinks a couple of times, evening his breathing out and trying to remember--. 

  
  


“You look  _ terrible _ ,” a voice, familiar and yet so distant to him, talks to him from somewhere to his right, and he turns around to find a woman laying on the ground next to him, auburn hair splayed out around her head, “Seriously, you look like you’ve seen better days.” 

  
  


Bart feels something crash against his chest, like someone was hammering down on his ribs with a very big hammer, and he lets out a huffed out breath. He knows this isn’t her. He knows the speedforce’s tricks and little idiosyncrasies she plays with to make speedsters comfortable in her home (herself?). Allen knows, realistically, he should not let his guard down, but his mother’s amber eyes are  _ right there _ . 

  
  


“Well, thank you,” he answers, turning away from them because it’s too much to take, “this is your fault anyways.” 

  
  


His mother’s (the speedforce’s) laugh is just like he remembers it. High, boisterous and bordering on ridiculous, like it’s always been. Bart shuts his eyes to try and concentrate on anything that isn’t the memories plaguing his brain right now. 

  
  


“You don’t like it when I look like your mother,” the woman says, matter-of-factly, and then her voice warps, “what about this?” 

  
  


Jaime’s brown eyes stare at him, warm like a sip of whiskey and bright like gold. The smile on his husband’s (the speedforce’s) face is easy and relaxed, and Bart remembers how, yesterday night, he had told Blue Beetle he wanted to be a trophy husband after all. 

  
  


“I don’t know why you insist on doing this,” Bart barks out, but doesn’t make any effort to move away despite his need to, “frankly it’s upsetting. Just let me die in peace, god.” 

  
  


“You’re not  _ dead _ ,  _ ridículo _ ,” Jaime answers him, rolling his eyes in mock-frustration, “If anything, this should feel more like suspended animation.”

  
  


“I’m away from my family. That’s cruel enough, isn’t it?” 

  
  


He’s looking at the stars again, but he can see the speedforce transforming from the corner of his eye. Long black hair, tanned skin and bright emerald eyes staring quizzically up at him. A feminine voice, strong and decisive--Bart would kill the speedforce is he could. 

  
  


“You know I wanted her,” Betty’s voice tells him, “not you.” 

  
  


“I couldn’t let you take her,” Bart says, but doesn’t bother to turn back to look at his daughter’s look-alike, “She’s young--too young--she deserves her shot at life.” 

  
  


“So overdramatic,” the speedforce scoffs, and transforms again as she sits up, trying to find the perfect body to inhabit--Tim comes next, for some reason, “you act as if I wanted to steal her forever.” 

  
  


“You would have stolen enough time,” the Flash answers, “enough that Jaime and I would have to mourn her, and cry for her, and be torn apart because she shouldn’t have left before we did.”

  
  


“She’s powerful,” the speedforce tells him, ignoring his outbursts, “could’ve learned so much in this place. Wally came out better for it.” 

  
  


“I know you know he’s said how much he would rather be slower than to have lost two years of his life.” 

  
  


Tim scoffs, and his short black hair turns into golden rings cascading down Cassie’s back, “If I wasn’t so fond of all of you, speedsters, I would’ve taken away the gifts I gave you.” 

  
  


“Take them back,” he spits out, without thinking, “I didn’t even ask for them.” 

  
  


“And yet, you put them to good use,” the speedforce tells him, before changing again, turning into Conner, “Just like Barry Allen before you, and then Wally West, you had powers you were saddled with and built your legacy as the Flash upon them.” 

  
  


“I’d say I think it’s unfair you gloss over Jay every time we talk about this, but I’m pretty sure you only have half custody of him, don’t you?” 

  
  


The speedforce takes this as some strange cue to transform into Jay, and Bart’s breath hitches in his throat and he remembers he had wanted to go visit the Garricks’ graves. Allen is more and more uncomfortable the more time passes, and he doesn’t understand why she never notices how incredibly cruel her hosting abilities are. 

  
  


“Jay Garrick was a good vessel,” she says, shrugging said man’s shoulders, “but he was never very obedient.” 

  
  


Bart can agree to that, laughing because he doesn’t have much else to do anyways. There’s a moment of quiet after, a couple of seconds that stretch out before him in pure peace, and then Jay shifts into Joan, then to Wally, Artemis, Iris, Barry--the speedforce doesn’t pick a body because she knows he’d be uncomfortable with any of them. 

  
  


Eventually, she settles for Bart’s own. It’s a good compromise. 

  
  


“I could get out of here,” Bart speaks up, arms folding up under his head, “my lightning rod is still alive and out there.” 

  
  


“You think I’d let you go?” she asks, and his voice sounds foreign on her, “After you were stupid enough to keep Beatriz away from me?” 

  
  


“I wasn’t asking for permission.”

  
  


There’s quiet again, this time heavier than the last, and Bart’s reflection, sitting next to him, shakes his head in disappointment. She had just called Jay the disobedient child (because he had always been able to run, despite the speedforce disappearing, and that angered her, certainly) but Bart knew it not to be true. Since day one of him figuring out his powers, he had used them to cheat, lie and bend the rules of the universe that had created him and lifted him. 

  
  


Consequences were not a thing he knew, as he stepped into the time machine he built to travel back in time and change the narrative in the way he so desired. Then, when time had come to go back, Bart had planted his heels on the ground of the 21st century and refused to budge. He had watched his own father grow up, watched himself be born again, and lived a life that was quaint and agreeable wrapped in Jaime’s arms. When the speedforce had come knocking at his door, asking for his first born child like some knock-off Rumpelstiltskin (open up, I gave you powers, time to pay up with your daughter!), Bart had told her to fuck-off and leave his family alone. 

  
  
  


In retrospect, perhaps doing that last thing had been pretty damning. 

  
  


Nevertheless, Bart didn’t regret a second of it. He would do it all over again if that’s what it took to keep the life he had lived. 

  
  


“Someone has to take her place here,” the speedforce talks again, “you shouldn’t leave.”

  
  


“Give me one good reason.” 

  
  


The speedforce leans over to place a hand over his eyes, and gives him more than one.

  
  


// 

  
  


When he opens his eyes again, blinking against the light that washes into the room he’s sitting in, he’s at the Hub. Upon further inspection, he notices he’s wearing his old Kid Flash uniform again, the one Barry and Jaime had given him for his 14th birthday. There’s an odd sensation sitting in his sternum, and he catches his own eyes across the room, where the speedforce is still inhabiting his older body, arms crossed across his chest. 

  
  


“ _ Correcaminos, _ ” the voice breaks him out of his staring contest, and he turns down to the floor where it came from, “You good?” 

  
  


Jaime is laying on the ground, stomach down, looking up at his best friend. On the floor, some forgotten college-level homework Bart barely remembers helping him with. If the speedster judges the little details carefully, he’d guess this was sometime in Jaime’s first year in Ivy College, probably already working his ass off through that hellish lab with Doctor Palmer. 

  
  


“Yeah,” Bart answers, voice hollow, and Jaime’s brows furrow in the middle, so he tries to shift his behavior, and smiles, “Whoops! Yeah, all good,  _ es-ca-ra-ba-jo _ !” 

  
  


Jaime laughs, but there’s some confusion hidden underneath, “When did you learn that word?” 

  
  


Bart groans inwardly. He hopes whatever the speedforce is doing right now doesn’t actually change these events in the real world. That would be unfortunate, and he has no idea what repercussions would be like. 

  
  


“Don’t worry about that,” the speedforce calls out to him from the other side of the room, “none of this is of any consequence. I’m just trying to prove a point.” 

  
  


Bart narrows his eyes at himself (which is weird, when he thinks about it), but does turn back to stare at his best friend. 

  
  


“What? You didn’t think I was capable of learning some Spanish on my own?” Bart teases Jaime, stretching over to poke the older boy’s ribs with his toes, “You’re not the only tutor out there.” 

  
  


Jaime snorts, swatting his foot away, “Oh, really? Who’s been teaching you, huh?” 

  
  


“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he answers, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, and Jaime guffaws, rolling his eyes. 

  
  


“Who’s ready for movie night?” Garfield’s voice cuts through the silly conversation, as the teen crashes on the other side of Bart, a bowl of popcorn on his lap. 

  
  


“What are we watching today?” Tim asks, jumping over the back of the couch to burrow in the corner of the couch, “What’s next on the list of teaching Bart about pop culture?” 

  
  


“I say we watch The Proposal,” Jaime pipes from his place, and Cassie flies over from the kitchen to plop down next to him, “He needs to know about Sandra Bullock’s superior acting skills or I’ll riot.” 

  
  


Wonder Girl laughs, ruffling Jaime’s already tangled hair, “I thought we could watch the Selena movie. You’ve been talking about it forever.” 

  
  


Jaime beams, and Bart’s heart flutters in his chest, “Okay, fine, Cassie’s right. We’re watching JLo’s most important role.” 

  
  


“Weren’t you saying you needed to finish that worksheet before midnight today?” Tim inquires, craning his neck to look at the page Jaime’s all but forgotten underneath him. 

  
  


“Shush, Timothy,” Blue Beetle tells his friend, “I’ll ask Khaji to solve it for me.” 

  
  


Bart has to laugh, “Literally no one in this room is gonna believe you could cheat.” 

  
  


His best friend rolls over to his back to stare at him and, like the adult he is, shows Bart his tongue, which only sends Allen into another bout of laughter. Jaime tries to reach him with his leg to kick him, but Kid Flash stands up and moves out of the place. 

  
  


“I’ll change out of the suit and  _ then  _ you can kick my ass.” 

  
  


Whatever Jaime answers is lost as he runs up the stairs to the rooms, and then the setting changes, in the blink of an eye, and he finds himself in the Garricks’ home. The fireplace is lit, light dancing in front of his eyes, as he’s tucked under a warm arm. Bart takes a moment to adjust to this next memory, and shuffles in his place to see who he’s sitting with. 

  
  


Barry’s blue eyes look strangely green under the yellow flames of the fireplace, and Bart takes in a deep breath, snuggling closer to his grandfather. Joan is sitting on her armchair across the room, reading out loud from one of the books Iris got for her that Christmas. He tunes into her narrative, trying to pinpoint what book it was, and smiles when he notices it’s the one that later became his favorite. 

  
  


“...sang about it in the coffee houses,” Joan’s voice is soft when she reads, but strong enough that everyone in the room is listening closely to her, “they ridiculed it in the newspapers, they dramatized it in the theatres.” 

  
  


Hal Jordan is sitting crossed legged on the floor to Bart’s left, and the speedforce (still in his goddamn body) has her head down on his lap. The Green Lantern doesn’t notice it happening, hands forgotten over his thighs as his head lolls back and forth, already falling asleep. Iris’ left hand rub circles in the pilot’s scalp, her right wrapped around one of Bart’s ankles. Jay is coming back from the kitchen to sit on the armchair next to his wife, setting a glass of water on the small table between them. 

  
  


“I let you stay with your family long enough,” his own voice coming from the speedforce tangles with Joan’s own, and Bart’s brow furrows, “I gave you the chance to start your life over in a time that wasn’t yours. I could’ve taken you instead of Wally because if anyone was an anomaly, it was  _ you _ .” 

  
  


Bart scoffs softly, but doesn’t bother to answer her. In an attempt to ignore her ramblings, he closes his eyes and turns his head towards Barry’s chest. 

  
  


That’s a mistake. 

  
  


Next thing he knows, there’s a sharp pain in the back of his head and when he opens his eyes, there are white spots dancing around in his vision. His goggles are on, tuned in to a night vision that’s cracked, so he grabs them and tosses them away with a groan. The back of the Blue Beetle armor greets him, as Jaime stands over him covering his stupid-ass. 

  
  


“KF!” Jaime calls over the roar of the fight, “You okay, man?” 

  
  


Bart shakes his head, trying to clear his head, turning around to try and understand where he is now. Kind of a jerk move to toss him in the middle of battle. 

  
  


“ _ Blue Beetle, do you need assistance? _ ” M’gann’s voice comes over the psychic link in their heads, “ _ I’m sending Robin your way. _ ” 

  
  


There’s the sound of a body hitting the floor, but Bart can’t clear his head enough to actually react. Beetle disappears from his direct line of sight at some point, as Kid Flash tries to roll over to his side to stand up. He’s disoriented, but he notices the needle sticking from one of his legs. 

  
  


Oh, yeah, he remembers this. 

  
  


“Shit, fuck--now this is just mean of you,” Bart says, his words slurred. 

  
  


Yellow boots come to stand right in front of him, and the speedster turns to look up at himself with what strength he has left. 

  
  


“You had a team,” the speedforce tells him, “actually, you had more than one team, but I think you loved this one more than any other.” 

  
  


There’s a hand on his back, and Bart turns to look at Tim, who’s hovering over him, domino mask half torn, “Hey, buddy, you okay?” 

  
  


“You might need to get Jaime to carry me all the way back to The Hub,” Bart jokes, his tongue tangling around with his words, “I’m a swooning maiden in distress, you know he’s got to.” 

  
  


Robin grins at him, and Blue Beetle comes to a stop behind him, face plate back to show his concerned face, “How’s he doing?” 

  
  


“I’m so beat up I might just confess my eternal love for you,” Kid Flash continues, “Did you know you have the prettiest eyes, Jaime Reyes?” 

  
  


Reyes rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling, “Might want to save your speech for when you’re actually dying, okay?”

  
  


“No,” Bart whines, dropping back on his ass because he can’t keep himself upright anymore. He makes grabby hands at Jaime, “Carry me back to base.” 

  
  


“Is that a question or an order,  _ jefe _ ?” 

  
  


Bart makes a confused sound in the back of his throat, until he remembers he’s mission leader for today. He grins something mad at his best friend and his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline in a display of pleasant surprise, “Is that something you like, Reyes? Why, I never took you for--” 

  
  


“Please, stop,” Tim tells them, rolling his eyes, “I will actually vomit, you guys are disgusting. If you guys are  _ finally _ going to kiss, don’t do it in front of me, at least.” 

  
  


“You asked for it, Timmy,” Bart says, but his mouth feels more and more like it’s being filled with cotton. 

  
  


The edges of his vision blur then, and before he loses all consciousness (for the next 35 hours, he recalls), Jaime’s arms are around him, pulling him up to carry him back home. 

  
  


When he opens his eyes again, he’s sitting in the bed of Jaime’s old beat-up truck. One of his hands is tangled in Blue Beetle’s hair, while the other one is clutching at the fabric of the button-up shirt his best friend is using. He knows this memory like the back of his hand, because he’s replayed it in his head more times than he cared to admit. This was, in no way or form, their first kiss, but it had been the first time Reyes hadn’t felt guilty afterwards. 

  
  


“Hey,” Bart exhales out, his lips still close enough for his breath to wash over Jaime. 

  
  


Jaime smiles softly at him, “Hey, yourself.” 

  
  


He giggles like a schoolgirl with a crush (and maybe he’d always feel like this for Jaime) and lunges forward to press another kiss to Jaime’s lips. This one is sweeter than the last one, he remembers with particular clarity, and Reyes shuffles closer to make the distance between them shorter. Bart has half a mind to wiggle his way into his best friend’s lap, but stops himself because he knows that is not how it happened. 

  
  


When they part again, Bart can’t stop the next laugh that bubbles out of his chest, his happiness threatening to pull him at the seams, and Jaime laughs with him. His eyes (god, Jaime’s eyes) stare into Allen’s, like he’s searching for the answers to the universe in there, and Bart can’t help loving this man with every beat his heart has to offer. 

  
  


“You had love,” the speedforce says, and Bart notices she’s standing just a couple of feet away from them, “you had so much of it, Bart.” 

  
  


The memory changes again. Jaime’s still across from him, but he’s wearing the suit he wore at their wedding. The stupid red tie with little Flash symbols that Ted had given Jaime as a mock-present, sitting proudly against his husband-to-be’s chest and Bart laughs again, tears falling down his cheeks. One of Reyes’ hands comes up to rub at the wet track on his cheek, although the dork is crying himself, and Bart leans into the touch greedily. 

  
  


“ _ Prometo amarte, cuidarte y acompañarte en todos los momentos de nuestra vida, _ ” Bart says his vows, because he’s sure he should be saying them, “ _ Prometo despertar junto a ti todos los días, preparar el desayuno, e ir a dormir lado a lado todas las noches. Quiero amarte hasta el fin de nuestra vida, y después amarte en las que siguen. Yo, Bartholomew Henry Allen, _ ” (‘The second’) “ _ te tomo a ti, Jaime Reyes, como mi esposo y me entrego a ti, para amarte y respetarte todos los días de mi vida _ .” 

  
  


A broken sob leaves Jaime’s lips then, and the other man laughs, calling himself ridiculous. Bart laughs with him, sliding the silver band on his left hand, before bringing Reyes’ knuckles up to his lips to kiss. The speedster closes his eyes, revelling in the warmth given to him by the memory. 

  
  


“ _ Dios mío _ ,” Jaime’s voice comes in a whisper, and Bart opens his eyes to find himself in their backyard, while Betty wobbles her first couple of steps alone, “Bart! Oh my god, she’s  _ walking _ !” 

  
  


Jaime walks down the steps from their home into the grass, and leans down to wait for their little girl to wobble her way over to him. Bart follows after her, hovering like only a first-time parent knows how to, until Betty grabs onto her  _ papi’s _ outstretched hands. 

  
  


“ _ ¡Mi vida! _ ” Jaime exclaims happily, grabbing the toddler in his arms to hoist her up on his hip, “You did it,  _ corazoncito _ . You gave your first steps! Bart! Did you see her?” 

  
  


Bart grins, coming to stand next to his overexcitable husband, “I sure did,  _ escarabajo _ .” 

  
  


Then, Jaime’s face turns grim and he groans, “Oh no,” he says, “does this mean she’s gonna learn how to run, soon?” 

  
  


Bart laughs, remembering then the first time Betty had actually run, “I’m sure it’ll still take a while, but I’d keep an eye on her.”

  
  


“Why did I have a child with a  _ speedster _ , of all metahumans?” Jaime whines, “Should’ve married Tim when I had the chance.” 

  
  


“Oh, boo-hoo,” Bart pokes his husband’s chest, “poor Jaime has to deal with a super fast child. Don’t be a baby.” 

  
  


“I gotta call my mom,” Jaime proclaims suddenly, passing their daughter to Bart, “she’s gonna be so happy to hear about this!” 

  
  


“I should probably call Iris to tell her the news, too,” Bart muses, as Betty giggles in his arms and pulls at his hair, “Ouch, baby, why are you doing this to me?” 

  
  


“You had everything, Bartholomew,” the speedforce says again, and Bart is faced with his own tired eyes looking at him, “You understand that?” 

  
  


Their backyard disappears. Betty, curled on his chest, disappears as well, and when he blinks, the adult version of her is standing right in front of him. Jaime is standing next to her, one hand wrapped protectively around her shoulder. She’s wearing red now, except her Flash suit (the one he had made for her earlier that week) has the distinctive details painted in bright blue, and she’s smiling. Bart’s husband is in civvies, but he’s smiling, too, peaceful. 

  
  


“If you insist on taking her place,” they speak at the same time, their voices mixing, “you have to let go of them.” 

  
  


Bart shuts his eyes tightly, feeling a weight heavy on his shoulders, and he thinks of the day Jay and Joan told them they had decided to stop using the speedforce’s gift. He thinks of Barry, retired somewhere with Iris, how they’ll probably make that decision sooner or later, too. He thinks of Wally and Artemis, and Jai and Irey, who had long since given up the Flash mantle. He thinks of Don and Dawn, family that isn’t quite his family, and his other self, still alive and almost Betty’s age. 

  
  


A sob leaves him. He thinks of Jaime Reyes. The love of his life, his lightning rod and soulmate. He thinks of the last look he saw in those whiskey eyes of his, and beats himself up because he should’ve said goodbye properly. Bart wanted to retire, and live the rest of his life next to Jaime. He’d gotten ready to be harassed by the press about his husband’s place in the presidency coming to an end and answer their stupid questions about Jaime’s retirement with a quick “no comment” that he’d later laugh about in the privacy of their own home because he’d sound like such a jerk.

  
  


He thinks about the family he built with Blue Beetle. The house in the suburbs of Central City where Betty learned to walk and laugh and cry. Bart knows his daughter, beautiful and wonderful as she’s always been, grew up happy and strong, because both of them raised her that way. He thinks about how she’s going to make a great Flash and how the people will love her, but never more than Jaime and he had loved her.

  
  


“You’ll take care of them?” he asks, through a cracked voice, “Even when I’m not there?” 

  
  


“Through you, I have loved Jaime Reyes, Bart,” she tells him, and the image of his family dissipates until Bart is all alone in the middle of the desert, the one he and Jaime always hung-out in when they were younger, “I will take care of him until he asks me not to. Beatriz has had my protection since she was born.” 

  
  


Bart takes in a shaky breath, and he nods. 

  
  


He lets go. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to make the fun facts actually FUN this time to make up for me making y'all cry with this fic, okay? 
> 
> -For Bart's wedding vows I got inspired mostly by [this beautiful scene from Jane the Virgin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO2aWE61lVw), but what is being said is not the same. So, here's the translation for Bart's wedding vows: "I promise to love you, care for you and accompany you through all the times in our lives. I promise to wake up next to you everyday, cook breakfast for us, and go to bed side by side every night. I want to love you until the end of our lives, and then love you for the next ones. I, Bartholomew Henry Allen, take thee, Jaime Reyes, as my husband, and I give myself to you, to love you and respect you every day of my life." Are y'all crying more now? I'm sorry. 
> 
> -Betty's full name is Beatriz Catalina Allen-Reyes and she's named Betty after Bart (he tried to name her Batrolomea, but Jaime, thankfully, stopp him from making a mistake) and Catalina is Jaime's favorite name. She's, biologically, Milagro's and Bart's daughter, because Milagro was their surrogate and egg donnor, and although she _does_ know that her Aunt Milagro is her actual mother, she's never put into doubt Jaime's fatherhood. To her, she's a 50% Jaime and 50% Bart. 
> 
> -My headcanon for Jason's and Jaime's friendship is that Jason came back from the death and Bruce wanted, desperately, Jason to have friends because he thought that might help with, well, _everything_ and he put Jaime on the mission (not actually) because Batman has been shown in comics to respect Jaime very vocally and outwardly. In the Young Justice timeline, Jay and Jaime are put to be born in the same year, and so, I say to DC: let them be friends! 
> 
> -The speedforce in this is also an amalgamation of various sources. Mostly, I used CW's concept of the speedforce trying to make her guests more comfortable by acquiring a form that was familiar to them. It really doesn't work, but she does pride herself in her superior hosting skills. I also see the speedforce as being a very neutral force. She's not bad, she's not good, she exists and acts in a way that could be, sometimes, considered morally dubious. She has a soft spot for her children, but she can also be a little selfish, too, sometimes. 
> 
> -If it makes you feel better, Bart isn't dead, not by any stretch of the imagination. Speedsters get trapped in the speedforce all the goddamn time and always, always, always come out on top, for some reason. I figure he stays there for a couple of years, appeasing the speedforce, and then Betty breaks in like "yo, listen, it's cool and all that you sacrificed yourself for me but let's blow this popsticle stand, dad, cause papi's been moping for three years and I will _not_ let him waste his retirement years without you". You can write whatever end you want for him. 
> 
> -Jaime is president of Kord Industries, if I didn't make that clear enough! In comics, KI is bought by Wayne Enterprises, and it becomes a subsidiary, so I figure that's what happens here, too. In the timeline I've made for my YJ verse, I have Ted Kord coming back from the death (don't ask how, ok?) when Jaime's like 25? By then, he's already a 100% dedicated to his carreer as a biomedical engineer (he's always a biomed engineer in my verses whoops) but Jaime still cries a little when Ted teaches him everything he knows. Over the coming years, they work together as Blue Beetle AND in KI, which Bruce let Ted take over once he was healthy enough to. Ted may or may not be Betty's godfather. 
> 
> -I always pictured Jaime as growing up and turning away the Justice League. It's not that he's not a team player, but in most comics I have read of him I read him as being a man that works things out his way and will not let others compromise his principles. That means that, while being part of a team is cool and all, there are things he doesn't agree on with the Justice League. He works with them, Batman calls him "outsourcing", but he only helps on missions HE wants to help on, which are usually relief missions, rescue missions and other humanitarian actions that are much more in character with him, I think. 
> 
> -Also, Wally came back from the speedforce with Betty. Shenanigans happened.


End file.
